Contracting Resources Group, Inc. (CRG) is a Woman-Owned Small Business, specializing in several core markets within the Federal Government. Our professional services depth includes program management and evaluation, strategic communications, acquisitions management, and IT solutions. CRG is a leading management consulting firm, in part because of our ability to attract the highest quality team members through our emphasis on culture, competitive compensation, and benefits packages. Since 2002, CRG has consistently received top performance ratings from customers and teaming partners and industry awards, including Inc. Magazine’s 5000 list of the Fastest Growing Companies in America, the Department of Labor HireVets Platinum Medallion award, and the Washington Business Journal, Inc. 5000, and Baltimore Sun’s Best Places to Work awards.

Description:The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor’s Office of Global Programs (DRL/GP) at the U.S. Department of State is looking for a detail-oriented person with experience in performance monitoring, applied research, and/or program evaluation to join our Applied Learning and Evaluation (ALE) team as a monitoring and evaluation specialist II. Candidates should have experience working as an internal or external researcher/evaluator, and the ability to work collaboratively with a team, as well as colleagues across multiple offices and agencies. The contractors must have a working knowledge of foreign assistance and international human rights and democracy programming. In addition, monitoring and evaluation the specialists will provide technical support to target the development of assistance awards (grants and cooperatives agreements of selected foreign assistance).

The Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist will be responsible for carrying out the office’s applied research and evaluation strategy in collaboration with members of the ALE team, for programs supported by the Human Rights and Democracy Fund (HRDF) and other resources. The incumbent also provides direction and guidance to office staff, Grant Officer Representatives (GORs), Technical Officers, and DRL grantees on applied research, performance monitoring, and program evaluation of HRDF and other DRL-funded grants, including developing and synthesizing portfolio-wide results frameworks, learning agendas, and assessing the progress of current grants. S/he assists DRL/GP with incorporating reporting, monitoring, and evaluation requirements into DRL grant agreements and facilitates learning from past DRL programs to help the office design more effective projects. The specialist will work closely with external evaluators to manage DRL-commissioned evaluations, help develop policies and frameworks for use by DRL program officers, and may conduct internal desk reviews and evaluations as time permits.

The incumbent applies internal control measures to protect organizational integrity and prevent unauthorized use or misappropriation of sensitive and classified material; reports instances of security violations/problems to the appropriate supervisory/management official; assumes full responsibility for safeguarding all classified and sensitive (but unclassified) material and equipment in assignment area(s). The position supports to the Deputy Director who reports to the Office Director.

Candidates with M&E background in democracy and governance sector; demonstrated skills in data analytics, using Excel or statistical software; experience in providing training on evaluation and learning methodologies; and demonstrated progressively responsible M&E experience are preferred.

Duties and Responsibilities:

DRL/GP requires an M&E Specialist who is capable of and will:

• Assist in the development of goals and objectives for DRL funds
• Propose, oversee and direct the use of short and long-term performance measures
• Support the drafting of the bureau’s performance planning activities, including developing and updating the planning and performance documents as required for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of the Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance (F), and the Department’s Bureau of Resource Management, including the annual Bureau Strategic Resource Plan, Congressional Budget Justification, the Operational Plan and the Performance Plan and Report (PPR)
• Liaise with offices involved in administration, financial planning and acquisition of funding
• Assist DRL program staff in analyzing data and developing content for briefings, data calls, and status reviews for DRL Front Office, Congress, and external stakeholders
• Assist the ALE team in training and advising DRL grantees in the use and implementation of appropriate M&E tools and processes
• Manage DRL’s project management database to improve data quality and reporting. Assist database developers in understanding office data needs to improve database design
• Develop strategies to promote and share findings from applied research and evaluation activities
• Coordinate with the ALE team and DRL implementing partners to contribute to the revision of the office’s learning agenda
• Help to pilot innovative, ethical monitoring and evaluation processes within the office
• Assist in the coordination of foreign assistance funding throughout the federal assistance life-cycle that include pre-award, award and post-award phases in grants and cooperative agreements
• Track the foreign assistance lifecycle progress throughout the fiscal year
• Coordinate and assist the DRL/GP Leadership in the administration and coordination of international human rights and democracy foreign assistance programs.

Additional responsibilities may include:

• Liaising with U.S. embassies and consulates regarding the award, management, and monitoring of grants
• Attend stakeholder workshops and conferences on topics related to their duties and responsibilities, provide program monitoring and technical assistance to grantees, while supporting the FTE
• Collaborating with M&E staff, professionals and the M&E community to enhance M&E methods
• Drafting reports and other documents for the team and program staff
• Drafting and clearing internal papers and memoranda regarding evaluations
• Working with external evaluators and trainers
• Organizing meetings and/or events

Requirements:

• Minimum of 3 years of experience in designing, overseeing and implementing program monitoring and evaluation; experience evaluating democracy, governance, and human rights programming a plus.
• Knowledge of U.S. government and international funding agencies’ evaluation policies
• Experience with applied research, qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods, and indicator development and tracking; Strong analytical skills, including advanced skills in Excel data management, as well as other quantitative and qualitative software packages
• Ability to prepare data collection and data quality instruments, summarize data, interpret results, and effectively present information to program staff, partners and donors
• Experience with database management, online survey platforms, and data visualization techniques
• Familiarity and experience with participatory research methods, advocacy evaluation, network analysis, or advanced quantitative techniques (experience in any of these areas is a plus)
• Ability to work under pressure and meet challenging deadlines
• International experience conducting monitoring and evaluation
• Excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills
• Excellent inter-personal, inter-cultural and teamwork skills
• Must be able to obtain security clearance (U.S. Citizenship required).

Education:

Master's degree with 2 years of experience; Bachelors’ degree with 3-5 will be reviewed for position. Candidates will also be considered if enrolled in a graduate program at the time of application.

CRG is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against otherwise qualified applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, genetic information, disability, matriculation, political affiliation, status as a protected veteran, or any other classification protected by Federal, State, or local law.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.